Tag Archives: Palm

Plants and Mushrooms On The Farm.

New.Munchkin.Gnome.Yellow.Boots

The morning started off with a torrential rain which filled up our tanks.  Yay…this means that we can continue to have long hot showers and keep on using the washing machine.  We are thankful for small blessings!  After the rains, we walked together with a wheel-barrow of seedlings to plant out (gosh…this is Munchkin and Gnome romancing!).

We planted out Carob seedlings.  We are especially excited about these because these can be a nutritional chocolate alternative and the seeds are a source of guar gum.  We planted these on high ground because they are not supposed to like “wet feet.”

Carob Seedling.
Carob Seedling.

We also planted some good varieties of mangoes…I know that this sounds rather mundane for the tropics but on our farm we have NO mango trees!   This also happens to be our favourite fruit so we are trying to catch up.  When we first came to Belize ten years we spent all our time planting unusual edible tropical fruits and forgot about the ubiquitous mango.

Freshly Mowed Field Ready For Mango Planting.
Freshly Mowed Field Ready For Mango Planting.

We have found from our own personal experience as wannabee farmers that the best way to plant a seedling is to cut the bottom off the plant pot and set it in a shallow (6 inches) hole.  This ensures that the roots are not disturbed and also you can weed-wack around it without damaging the plant.

Planted Mango.
Planted Mango.

Ooooh look our betel nut is flowering…not sure what to do with it so we will have to do some research on that one…

Betel Palm Flower.
Betel Palm Flower.

And, last but not least, the mushrooms are coming out with the rains.  This is Turkey Tail mushroom which can be boiled up for a tea and is rich in anti-oxidants.

Turkey Tale Mushroom.
Turkey Tale Mushroom.

This is Chicken of The Woods.  We are waiting for them to get bigger so that we can harvest them to eat.  When you cook them up, they taste just like chicken.  Yummy…can’t wait!!

Chicken Of The Woods.
Chicken Of The Woods.

What exciting things on the farm!!